Punahou completed a remarkable turnaround against ILH competition Saturday, and the Buffanblu’s next stop is the state tournament.
John-Keawe Sagapolutele completed 23 of 35 passes for 385 yards and three touchdowns as No. 2 Punahou beat No. 5 Saint Louis 24-8 in the final of the ILH Open Division tournament at Farrington.
Punahou (8-1) will represent the ILH in the four-team HHSAA/First Hawaiian Bank Open Division Championships, which start Nov. 18. The OIA’s Kahuku, Mililani and Campbell will fill out the bracket.
“It’s a blessing,” Sagapolutele said. “It’s something my teammates and I have been dreaming about. It feels good that we finally did it. It’s a small step for us to hopefully take it to the next step and that’s the state championship.”
The Buffanblu finished 1-4 in their all-ILH schedule last season, Nate Kia’s first as head coach.
When asked what the biggest difference is between last season and this season, Kia said: “Time. Time together. We didn’t even have our staff together until July of last year, right before the season started. We’ve had time to put in the systems, build chemistry and put in the work and learn to trust each other. The players have done that and the coaches as well.”
Kia added the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t help either last season.
Saint Louis (4-5) suffered its first losing season since 1982.
Punahou also defeated Saint Louis 43-19 on Sept. 17 and 42-21 on Oct. 8 of this season. The last time the Buffanblu defeated the Crusaders three times in a season was 2005.
The Buffanblu’s only misstep this season was a 27-20 non-league loss to Kahuku on Sept. 3. They finished 5-0 against ILH opponents with an average margin of victory of 33.6.
The Punahou scored on the game’s first possession on Sagapolutele’s 1-yard pass to Iosepa Lyman. Jordan Kapisi’s PAT kick made it 7-0 with 8:06 left in the first quarter. Sagapolutele was 4-for-5 for 51 yards on the drive.
Saint Louis had a golden opportunity to score early in the second quarter when Will Lentz ran 11 yards to the 1, but he fumbled and Punahou recovered.
“You make it a focus to create turnovers and protect the ball,” Kia said. “The only way you really do that is by doing your job and doing your assignment. You do the fundamentals, good things happen.”
The Buffanblu drove into the red zone on the ensuing possession, but Crusaders defensive back Nick Delgadillo picked off a pass near the goal line.
Punahou went up 10-0 on Kapisi’s 38-yard field goal on the final play of the first half.
Saint Louis went to a short passing game, with Kekahi Graham completing his first 13 passes for 71 yards. He finished 25-for-36 for 207 yards.
“Our coaches during the week just made sure we don’t give up big plays and make sure we make tackles,” said Punahou defensive back Travis Ross.
The Buffanblu’s GianCarlo Rufo had three sacks for 22 yards in the first half.
The Buffanblu scored on their first possession of the second half on Sagapolutele’s 5-yard shovel pass to Noah Macapulay, which made it 17-0 with 5:08 to go in the third.
Sagapolutele tossed a 98-yard scoring pass to Macapulay to make it 24-0 with 10:17 remaining in the game.
“It was an audible. Me and my quarterback John, we saw the same look at the same time, and it’s just great when you have chemistry with your quarterback,” Macapulay said. “I just ran up the middle and nobody was there.”
The Crusaders made it 24-8 on Keola Apduhan’s 2-yard run, and a 2-point conversion pass from Yosei Takahashi to Titan Lacaden with five minutes remaining.
Macapulay had seven catches for 170 yards. Astin Hange finished with seven receptions for 109 yards for Punahou.
—
PUNAHOU 24, SAINT LOUIS 8
at Skippa Diaz Stadium
Saint Louis (4-5) 0 0 0 8 — 8
Punahou (8-1) 7 3 7 7 — 24
Pun—Iosepa Lyman 1 pass from John-Keawe Sagapolutele (Jordan Kapisi kick)
Pun—FG Kapisi 38
Pun—Noah Macapulay 5 pass from Sagapolutele (Kapisi kick)
Pun—Macapulay 98 pass from Sagapolutele (Kapisi kick)
StL—Keola Apduhan 2 run (Yosei Takahashi to Titan Lacaden)
RUSHING—Saint Louis: Apduhan 7-41, Will Lentz 3-7, Chaz Delto 1-4, Kekahi Graham 10-(minus 3). Punahou: Alai Williams 15-68, Lyman 3-6, Sagapolutele 1-0, Ty McCutcheon 2-(minus 15), team 2-(minus 20).
PASSING—Saint Louis: Graham 25-36-1-207. Punahou: Sagapolutele 23-35–1-385, Williams 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING—Saint Louis: Lacaden 6-33, Chyler DeSilva 5-75, Jaysen Peters-de Laura 5-11, Takahashi 3-35, Nick Delgadillo 2-26, Will Reed 1-19, Hikaa Dancil-Evans 1-4, Apduhan 1-3, Lentz 1-1. Punahou: Macapulay 7-170, Astin Hange 7-109, Lyman 4-46, Christian Kauhane 3-41, Justice Wu 2-19.
Also:
Damien 42, Punahou I-AA 30
STATE TOURNAMENTS
OPEN DIVISON
Nov. 18
Kahuku vs. Campbell at Mililani, 4 p.m.
Punahou at Mililani, 7 p.m.
Nov. 25
Championship at Mililani, 7 p.m.
DIVISION I
Nov. 11
Kapaa at Waipahu, 7 p.m.
Aiea at Lahainaluna, 7 p.m.
Nov. 19
Waipahu/Kapaa at Iolani, 3 p.m.
Lahainaluna/Aiea at Konawaena, 7 p.m.
Nov. 26
Championship at Mililani, 7 p.m.
DIVISION II
Nov. 12
Pac-Five at Nanakuli, 7 p.m.
Kaiser at Waimea, 1 p.m.
Nov. 19
Nanakuli/Pac-Five at King Kekaulike, 7 p.m.
Waimea/Kaiser at Honokaa, 7 p.m.
Nov. 26
Championship at Mililani, 4 p.m.
